Masquerade Party
by Miss Pessimistic
Summary: A/U: Remus isnt a Marauder yet;Remus attends the Masquerade Party, to be himself. Sirius is drawn to this masked man, but when he leaves early, he is determined to find him, at all stakes. SB/RL
1. Getting Ready

*Disclaimer*  
Summary: A/U [Remus is not a Marauder yet.] Remus gets to be himself at the Masquerade Party. When Sirius falls for this masked man, he is determined to find him, at all stakes.

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**Chapter I: Getting Ready**

I tightened the knot of the tie loop, and tucked it beneath my button down collar, then re-thought, after it seemed a bit tight, un-did it. I did this 2 more times, until I became frustrated, and rather had it dangle, though still tied, not tucked, but loose. I flattened the wrinkles and creases that had formed during my mini-tie war, and made sure everything was in order. Then, ever so slowly, I took the fragile white and black mask in my shaky hands. I delicately placed it on my face, making sure it fit properly. It felt cool against my skin, being in it's packaging since I bought it from Hogsmeade a few weeks back after Dumbledore announced that he would be hosting a Masquerade Party during Christmas Break.

I took this as a huge opportunity to get to be myself, the self that rarely showed itself to others, that never was shown in front of my dorm mates. My dorm mates: Peter Pettigrew was a nice boy, who was a bit plump, not so bright, but kind all the same. He followed around James Potter mostly, who followed Lily Evans around. James seemed rather different from Peter, for he was much more brilliant, had messy black hair instead of blondish hair like Peter, and had a knack for trouble and sarcasm. His best friend, who shared everything but blood, was Sirius Black.

Sirius had amazing, black, long hair, that waved down to his shoulders, and looked oh-so soft. His eyes were a cloudy gray-silver. I'm not sure which, but I like to think silver, because it's more shiny and valuable, as gray is a color used to described either Elder people's hair, or bland people. He was a very lean man, who was very similar to James. As I said, they were like brothers that had everything in shared basically, but blood. He had the brains like James', and they were both great at Quidditch, though Sirius was a better Beater, which defines his muscular arms. He too, liked to cause chaos to the students, especially Slytherins, and pulled pranks constantly, though were always caught. I knew ways they could avoid this out-come, but they wouldn't notice if they tripped over me.

Which is exactly why I need this Masquerade Party, so they _won't _know me. Because, when I go behind this mask, I will be a new person. The new person that is actually the real me that I've hidden for 5 years.

I've rarely spoken to the _Marauders, _as they liked to have labeled themselves, despite living in the dorms with them. They rarely acknowledged my presence. I understand their reasoning though: During first year I didn't try to seek out friends, or any type of connection with the Hogwart's students, and rather keep to myself. I didn't want anyone to figure out my lycanthropy, for that would only lead to questions, rumors, stories, problems, and somehow, I wouldn't just be expelled - I would be in great guilt of putting Headmaster Dumbledore in trouble for having a werewolf around school grounds once a month, having the risk of escaping, and hurting another student. Though I don't fully see how it's possible to hurt another student if they're in the dorms, and I can't speak the password to even make it beyond the common room. So when those three boys, during the first night together, after the Feast and Sorting, tried to be-friend me, I acted rather hostile towards them, hoping they would give up before they tried. It had worked, and in its place, left loneliness, and solitude. Until of course, in 3rd year, I became friends with Lily Evans.

She was a nice lass, bushy red hair, curious green eyes. She seemed drawn to my remote, private self. She knew there was something different, _off_ as she had put it, about me. She cautioned to me then, that she was determined to find out what I had. At first I was quite afraid that if she noticed, who else had. But then I got annoyed and how blunt she had been examining me day to day. By 4th year though, she did figure out who, or more like _what _I was, and was rather shaken. She eventually got over that, because she was still drawn to me in an odd way. We quickly became friends, which I found wasn't as bad once you got to be yourself. We had a lot of common interests, outside of school topics, too. She was the only one who knew a part of the real me. Near the end of 4th year, she kissed me, but after I told her I was gay, and she said that she wasn't fazed by it; she just wanted to wish me good luck for the holiday, to see me next year. Easy acceptance, I guess.

Glad that we seemed to have forgotten, or more like, _haven't mentioned_ anything of the kiss, I went and told her my new infatuation for a Mister Sirius Black. She seemed taken aback by this, but agreed to help me win his heart anyways. I was soon for gratified to have at least obtained one friend through these years.

Our basic, and simple plan, was not to win Sirius' heart tonight, but for me to have fun. That was it. And without risking my identity. Which is why I have many precautions to what might throw me off.

First, my mask was a full one, so people could only see me eyes and lips. And no-one ever looked into my eyes because I tried to never catch anyone's eyes, so they never saw the golden amber beneath. It being a full mask, they wouldn't identify me easily by my scars either, so I was not recognizable by the face.

My voice would be my _normal, real_ voice, that I never really let anyone hear, for they only heard my calm, collected, quiet voice. And I only used that to answer questions during class, and speak to Lily.

No one, (besides Lily again) knew my body - even if that does sound wrong. Being covered by the layer of the blouse, sweater vests, tie, and then large, black sweeping robes, that were hand me down by my berk of a father. He had left me at age 5 upon hearing my disease, and being against it for the Ministry, rather keep his reputation than protect his own son. So, they would see that I wasn't as frail and bony as they most likely thought I was, because of my 'brains over brauns' they would say about me. I was actually _very strong_ because the strength was a deluxe with the werewolf traits, along with my lust for raw meat, which made my muscles healthy, and then having going through the transformations each month, made me very strong indeed, since you have to endure so much bone snapping, skin stretching 'fun'.

And then no one, and I don't even think Lily fully knew this, was my original personality. I get to be myself tonight. One _no-one_ knew about me.

I took my hand and froufted my hair up in a similar way like James', smiled wearily at myself in the mirror, then gave one last glance at my shining eyes, and left the 5th year dorm to the Common Room waiting with Lily Evans, who, had a matching short dress like myself.

"You look breath taking Lily" I gave a light smile. She eyed me, a slow grin spreading across her features like a wild fire.

"As do you Remus. You know Sirius will be on you like a dog, right?" she smirked.

"Only in my dreams, Lily. Now come, we are 20 minutes late already."

"What's that Mr. Lupin? Do my ears _and_ my eyes deceive me, as _you _were the one who was up there for a good extra 15 minutes, as I was already ready?" she asked, with a hand over her heart, trying to look hurt and vividly shocked.

"Come on." I said with a grin, and together we went to the Masquerade Party.


	2. Masked Man

**Chapter II: Masked Man**

**Sirius P.O.V.**

Masks. Everywhere. Colors were swirling left and right, causing me to get a migraine. The party looked amazing though, I must admit. There were tables set up along the East side of the room when you enter through the doors. The lighting was a tinted blue, and the theme of the whole party was a .. a blizzard? It was supposed to look like a Winter Wonderland I think. Whoever did the décor for it all deserved an award. There were snowmen in corners and tight spots, and they interacted with the students every once in a while. There was tinsel on the floor, streamers hanging from the ceiling, strobe lights on the perimeter of the room, and a dance-floor. Girls swarmed around me, few guys too. I sometimes wished I never came 'out of the closet' because it only enlarged my fan club. Though I inspired others to come out, too.

James was beside me, in a Gryffindor red. I told him not to go cliché. But he had told me it's not for Gryffindor, it was for Lily Evan's blazing hair. Idiot.

"Her perfect eyes.. perfect lips.. perfect.. err.. um, hands." He was bragging again.

I snorted at his comment, "Oh yes, I believe they are truly perfect. Especially when those 'perfect hands' punch you in the jaw, and then those 'perfect lips' quirk into a triumphed smile, and the way her 'perfect eyes' send you one last dagger through the heart before she stalks off."

He sighed in those often-too-frequent memories, "Such a sweet girl..." Topic change time.

"Where's Peter?" I asked, bored. James snapped out of his daze to respond.

"Food table. Pigging out. With the other piggy Hufflepuff girl. Aren't they adorable piggies? Don't you just want to make two hams of them and put them in your barley soup? Where's that kid, Lupin?" he said in equally flat tone.

"Who cares. Probably didn't want to come, has a date with his book and History of Magic homework." We both laughed at our cruel, probably true joke. When the song ended, students broke apart from their dance partners, to their group of friends, and everyone applauded at the band.

Seconds later, when the clapping died down, the Great Doors open, and in walked two matching people. They looked like characters out of those old Muggle films, because they were in only black and white. I immediately recognized the girl by her red hair and green, round eyes, for she was Lily Evans, James' heart-throb. She constantly rejected the boy. She should be flattered she's being asked out by the best Quidditch Chaser, 2nd most brilliant person (2nd to me!) and infamous boy of the school. But _noo_, she rather hang with Snivellus. Ungrateful nutter.

When I turned my attention to the bloke beside her, I was transfixed. I couldn't recognize this person, this... stranger. But he was bloody _gorgeous._ He had...what color were they exactly? Bronze, fawn, gold, hazel, honey? Sunshine? What? Sepia, mahogany, chestnut? Just fascinating eyes. I couldn't be sure - but I think they had a bit of green around the edges. I could drown in them, and refuse to be pulled out. So enthralling. They were startling, light, and striking. What he was wearing was heavenly, especially his tie. Though it was black, it was sloppy, and loose, made me wanna pull on it.

I didn't realize I was staring like a psycho neurotic, though everyone also had eyes upon the pair. Everything was silent as they continued walking with ease and confidence, though confused why they were the center of attention. I loved how his legs moved swiftly and elegantly. When they made it to the center, you could tell they were nervous, and I could tell the mystery man was to be mine.

People's heads began turning around to stare at something on the east, and soon I felt an elbow blow into my ribs.

"Ah, shit! _What?" _I asked with obvious annoyance, rubbing the bones roughly. James pointed towards where Headmaster Dumbledore was, which he was standing, with open arms.

"Hello my late party guest. How glad I am for you to have joined us this evening! Since most of the attention seems fixed upon you, how would you like to give us a quick dance?" he smiled warmly, though mischief shone behind those glasses.

"Why not." the boy spoke, and my mouth fell open, yet again. He had a captivating, deep voice, that was unidentified to me. Evans shrugged, though a smile was plastered on her "perfect mouth". And if I was mistaken, James' mouth was too hanging open by the revelation that Evan's was behind that mask. I looked over my shoulder at him, and I was correct - he had his mouth open.

"Close your mouth James. You'll catch flies." The music began playing and I immediately recognized it. It was the actually song from the Phantom of the Opera play. Masquerade, it was called. I had saw the Phantom of the Opera last summer when I snuck from Grimmauld place. How angry my parents were. They accused me of now being associated with everything Muggle related. I protested, but I ended up with a slap from mom, and a smug brother.

"Serves you right, being a blood traitor to the Black's name." and he spit at my feet, landing on mom's newly waxed floor, which I had to clean with a napkin.

This song was my favorite from the play, and there the two were dancing to it - quite brilliantly, too. I thought I would never hear this song again; at least not until I was 17 and out. He dipped Evans, and I heard James' growl from behind. Where they learned to dance was a mystery itself, because how sharp they swung, how artistic they took each step, placed each hand, arched which way. I felt jealous of Evans now.

In a few minutes though, not taking my eyes off the man, the song ended and so did the dancers with one last swirl. The hall erupted in cheers and applauds. I too was whistling, though involuntarily. As I kept looking longingly over the man's eyes, he suddenly spotted me, and was looking straight back. His full, soft looking lips gave me a smile, and I felt my heart beating faster, and heat rushing to my face. I really wished I wore a full mask now, but I only had this blue, fancy one, and I knew he saw me flushed. I quickly turned away, now staring at a sulking James.

"That was a wonderful waltz. Now, continue on everyone, enjoy yourself." Dumbledore gave a cheerful smile, and sat back down. I sighed as a great crowd formed around the two, as I kept picturing his great eyes. I sulked for a few minutes, but then I heard the familiar deep voice, that was alluring all the same.

"Hello there." I turned around to see that he and Evans got away from the mobs, who didn't even notice they were gone.

"Hey Evans." James said coolly, before running a hand through his hair and getting it stuck, then turned to the man, "This your new boyfriend?"

"No. You jealous Potter?" she said bitterly.

"He's _so_ your boyfriend!" he said disgusted.

"He's not my-" she began hotly, but the man cut her off.

"It's alright Lily. James, I'm not her boyfriend ... I'm not into girls."

Immediately I knew what he meant, as I turned to look at him, and caught his eye. I knew James had his mouth open _again. _I was getting red in the face. . . I couldn't read his expression since everything was covered but those nice full lips, that . . . oh my God, I want him.

The four us exchanged small chat, sharing small facts about each other. His voice, his laugh, his eyes, his - everything. I was never one to believe in love at first sight, but Merlin help me. About a half-hour later, James and Lily got in an argument, and both left the table. I suddenly felt very uncomfortable to be alone with him, but I didn't want him to leave either. Who the hell was he? How come I didn't recognize him? We didn't talk about anything, and it soon became very awkward.

"Wanna dance?" I blurted, unable to think of anything to say.

"Why not?" he said casually, and my stomach felt heavy, but my head felt light. I grabbed his hand, and felt him stiffen slightly. I wasn't going to be subtle, I was going to put on my Sirius-charm, and he will be mine. I pulled him near the center, then put an arm around his waist, while I used my other hand to hold his firmly. I pulled him close, where we were pressed against each other, though his hand was against my chest, gripping my button down. I knew this was far too close to comfort for him, and quick to be this close at all, but I knew he liked it; I could feel his heart thumping madly against me, and I couldn't help but smile.

We began stepping, and left, right, swing, back, no. Wrong.

"Am I leading, or are you?" he asked, his lips in a small grin.

"I'm gonna be the man here." I replied with a smirk. And so the dance went on. Eyes were upon us, but I neither noticed nor cared. I was enjoying myself, and this darling man. We were caught in the moment, and time seemed to be frozen. I went in for a dip, and I whispered in my seductive voice, "You know, you have beautiful eyes," and I knew he was blushing, even if I couldn't see it.

"I've been told." he said plainly.

"What color are they?"

"Amber." That's the color! Alongside with all the other great adjectives.

"I had better names for them. Like sunshine." I smiled at him, and when I heard him laugh, I was hooked.

"What's your name?"

"I can't tell you." he said unnerved.

"You _do_ have a name, don't you?" I said, as I suddenly stopped leading correctly, so he took over me this time.

"Of course I do. I know your name too, Sirius. And back there, I knew James and Lily." I was slightly surprised that he knew us, and we didn't know him, but I didn't let it show.

"So tell me, what's your name then?"

"I think I rather not tell you." he said huskily, and my breathing became ragged as he dipped me, and I looked into the eyes again, and I saw a darkness inside that I didn't notice before. It obviously wasn't visible, but was more just _there_.

"Hmm. Well, I know _what_ you are then." I said enticing. He suddenly froze, and I stopped with him.

"And exactly _what_ am I?" he said sternly, as he pulled away from me. But I pulled him back.

"You, my dear mystery man, are tempting, inviting, desirable, irresistible, and. . . Kissable," and then I pulled him into a quick kiss. I swear, that moment was probably the moment I was _in love._ Oh, how dare I say that. What do I know about love? 15 years old, love at first sight? It was short, probably took 3 seconds for me to press my lips together as his bottom one was in-between them. I then retreated, so I could see his reaction.

But I remembered that he had his mask on, so I couldn't see it even if I didn't want to. He stood there, limp, and I heard the crowd and students around erupt into cheers and wolf whistles for all the people who danced - but I paid no mind, me and him were in our own world. I mean, at least I was.

"You have such tender lips. It's amazing how a thing that provokes so much speech can take them away so easily." I let go of his waist, and took a step back. He just nodded at my comment, then excused himself.

"Um. It's late now, so I think I will leave now. Tell Lily I said good bye," he walked at a brisk pace to the door, and I called after him.

"Wait! Don't go! And what is your name!" but he vanished behind the wood, and I felt empty. It's only 9:04, we had so much time left. Did I cause him to leave? Will I never see him again? No, he goes to Hogwarts, I know it now, since he knew me, Lily, and James. I just need to find out who he is, and I will. I mean, how many people have amber eyes like him?

Now that I think about it ... no one I know has eyes like that.

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**A/N: I re-did this chapter because I re-read it & thought there was definitely not enough details in it, & it was kind of rushed. I also had a few mistakes, so feel free to read it again, compare them, & tell me what you think of it now? (:**


	3. James Knows

**Chapter III: James Knows**

**Remus' P.O.V.**

I was running down the corridor, not remembering where anything was at the moment, as if the world went blank. I finally spotted the moving staircase, and headed straight for it. I climbed two steps a time. I needed to get back to the Common Room. Act like I was never there. Act like me. The fake me. Act like I was indulged in the best book of the century. Act like I didn't kiss Sirius Black.

But I _did_ kiss Sirius Black, and that's what made it even harder. I headed towards the Fat Lady's Portrait.

"Purple Nurples. . ." I whispered breathlessly.

"I do like your mask Mr. Lupin." she said sweetly, while swinging open. I hurried in with a quick thank you, and went to the dorms without hesitation. Thank Merlin no one was in the common room, or I would have drawn a lot of attention the way I was moving. I found my pajamas and slammed them on the bed. Then I pulled off the mask, slid it back into its box, threw it back into my trunk and locked it with a good incantation. Next, I yanked off my tie, un-did off my button-down, slipped off my pants, and threw it all under the bed. I took off my dress shoes and transformed them to the original, worn ones that I wore around each day. What else is out of the ordinary about me? My hair? I ran to the bathroom and slicked it back, making it neat again. I gathered the pajamas from my bed and threw them on. I found my Defense Against the Dark Arts text book, and I plopped on the bed, book on top of the pillow, me on my belly, gasping for breath.

I heard the portrait swing open and I knew exactly who it was; James and Sirius. They came walking up the stairs, and when the door knob lock clicked open, I closed my eyes, pretending to have fallen asleep while reading, though I was listening very intently.

".. I don't know who he was James. But he was amazing," Sirius was continuing.

"Don't worry mate, you'll find him." They plopped onto their beds and began undressing, ignoring my presence as usual.

"Hell yeah I'm gonna find him! James, I will look day and night for this man. He was the one, I just know it. Merlin, I shouldn't have kissed him! I made him run off, I embarrassed him, I rushed things. I mean, I invaded him without even learning his name." he said desperately.

"Remus**.** Lupin**.** Remus Lupin**.** _Remus John Lupin," _I thought insanely

.

"Whoa, you didn't even ask him his name?" James asked, while I heard him throw his shoes onto the floor.

"I asked him, but he refused. Said he rather not tell me... oh, I can play the scene back in my head perfectly..."

"Maybe he had a ridiculous name." James suggested.

I snorted, "Yea, what's worse than the name Sirius Black? Your first name is used in various puns, and my last name is known of the Heir of the Blacks, whose earth revolves around money, power, and Dark Arts." It was silent then, as the boys slipped on their pajamas, and sat on their beds.

"Did you see his eyes?" Sirius finally whispered, mooning over the past events.

"No, what were they? Gray like yours?" He shook his head, and smiled at the mental image.

"They were amber. So he told me. I had much better words. Gold would be an understatement. They were honey, glazed with happiness. He laughed when I told him they were sun shine colored. When he laughed... it was like watching an infant tasting chocolate for the first time."

"Sirius, that made no sense at all. That whole scenario made no sense at all." James corrected.

"Bugger off. His eyes were alluring. His laugh was captivating. His voice was seductive. And his lips were... they were moist, because before I went in for the best-kiss-ever, he had licked them. Actually, I think that when he licked them, that's where my word kissable came in, and my action encouraged it. How I want to kiss them again, without any watchers, without any strangeness of not knowing who this person even was. Just with love and passion. Something I would give to him- no, something I will give to him, when I find him."

"I can't believe I actually thought he was dating Lily. . ." James said, not listening to Sirius rant anymore. They all sat in silence. James dreaming of Lily, if she would have accepted his dance offer. Sirius of the masked man, whom he longed to have in his arms. And Remus, about how Sirius talked of wanting all of this from him, but if he knew who it really was, he would be dropped like a fly.

_I can't get close to him. Maybe if I really did, even considering, just getting a chance with Sirius, how would I act? Obviously myself. But what about my lycanthropy? He would notice me missing each month if I was his boyfriend. _What am I talking about? I'm aiming too high, dreaming too large. _But if I __**did**__, just theoretically, he wouldn't want me anymore after finding I was a psychotic monster each month. And it's best to be rejected now, than be rejected with attachments, because it would only hurt more. _

I woke up to Peter vomiting in the bathroom. The other two boys were still asleep, and I first glanced at James, who was clutching on to a picture of Lily. Odd. And then I transferred my gaze to Sirius, and it lingered there for a moment before I noticed that he was talking. As I climbed out of bed and moved closer, he was more of mumbling than speaking. I listened very closely, hoping to catch the incoherent phrases.

"Like sun.. pigs. Ha .. mmphh poof... huhh, Snivellus.. scourigifyyyy...git." He smacked his lips together a few times before letting out a loud snore, "your name .. what's your nahh. .." his words became clearer, and were beginning to fit together, and he was fidgeting a bit, "Mom ... he spit gahh .. no, I .. I want. . "

What did he want? He seemed to be saying what was on his mind basically. Just in smaller words.

"What do you want Sirius?" I whispered in his ear, then quickly retreated to my bed as fast as I could, as he abruptly sat up, now fully awake. I turned my head away, trying best not to look into his eyes at all, not giving him the opportunity to look into mine.

"His voice. I just heard it." he seemed to talk to himself, since no one else was in the room. I mean, no one he actually acknowledged, since James was asleep, Peter was puking, and I was here. Doing nothing. But being invisible all the same.

"Merlin, I'm losing it ... I didn't even have any Firewhiskey or anything last night... but I just heard his voice. His velvet voice ..." he sighed again. Then he got up and knocked on the bathroom door, which finally seemed to have silence behind it. "Peter! Hurry it up in there! I need to go drown myself in the bath tub!"

"I can't! Ate too much food last night!" he squeaked in a weak voice. Sirius groaned irritably. James began to stir, and was flickering his eyes open.

"Whuzz all thaa hubbaa?" he muttered. Sirius shot him a pitying look, as he rolled out of the bed, and got tied in the sheets. I let out a small laugh, which was ignored.

"James, you will never believe what I dreamt of last night! Go on, guess." Sirius said excitedly, as we all began dressing for the day; except Peter, who had begun gagging again. I slipped on my shoes, the old worn ones, that screamed of the memory last night.

"The ball-party muhooey thing-y?" he said, sleepily.

"Exactly. And then guess _who _I dreamt of. . ." Sirius encouraged.

"Mister mystery masked man?" He yelped as his finger got caught in his zipper.

"Here, I got you." and Sirius took out his wand and said, "_Waddiwasi!"_

I shook my head in disappointment as James finger went flying out and had a large peel in it. The waddiwasi charm was only to unstick something with great force, like a counter-sticking charm. Not for pulling out your finger.

"Oh, sorry mate, um." then he said the banishing charm, and his hand went right back in, "Damn, that's not right. . . what's that charm. . ." James' finger was again stuck, but this time had a cut. James looked horrified at it. Sirius was repeating to himself charms that were supposed to work. I sighed, and decided that this was too much for 7:30 in the morning.

"_Deprimo,"_ and the zipper immediately loosened. Without looking at any of their still faces, I muttered the bandaging charm, "_Ferula._" and his finger healed. I walked towards the door to head to breakfast. I wasn't expecting any type of appreciation, but I was a little surprised when I did get one. Then I took that back as it wasn't an appreciation at all.

"Thanks … didn't need your help though," I heard James mutter unenthusiastically. I didn't look back though, I just walked down stairs to the Common Room when Lily came running up to me, a little too thrilled for the early morning. I knew immediately what she had to say. Good thing no one was down stairs yet. I was already in a pissy mood.

"What Lily?" I asked, rubbing my temples to soothe the headache beginning to form.

"So, Remus ... what did you think of the party? Pretty _fun, _eh?" she said, wiggling her eyebrows oddly. I blushed, but didn't reply as she looped her arm through mine, and we went to the Great Hall. There were actually a lot of students already up, down, and ready, though, being Sunday, they were all in pajamas and slippers, with bed head. We didn't say anymore of the party, as we began jamming our toast. Then some students from our house came up to us. Well, they came up to Lily; they blatantly ignored me.

"Hey Lily. That was a great dance yesterday..." some blonde bloke with terrible acne started.

"Yea, you looked rather dashing in that dress," another shorter boy with nappy hair said.

Then the girl of the group spoke, "But what we _really_ want to know, Lily, is who that _man_ was? _Surely, _it wasn't . . . _him." _and she gestured to me. I interrupted before Lily could spill, "No, I wasn't there last night." Lily shot me a nervous glance, and I sent her a pointed glare that told her to _keep it shut._

"Well Lily. Are you gonna tell us or not?" the short boy said impatiently, and the other two nodded like they were having a neck shortage.

"Not," she said darkly, and turned away from them. They all began mumbling among each other but scurried away seconds later, and she rolled her eyes to me. "Why don't you wanna tell them? I mean, _everyone _saw you. We danced together for _Dumbledore_, and then you got _kissed by Sirius Black!_" she squealed.

"Sshh!" I reminded, "I don't want attention. I don't want Sirius getting to know me. I don't want rumors to start. Everything is to be forgotten from yesterday. I wasn't there. It's kind of a blemish of mistakes, that are to be forgotten with the other mess of blemishes. I just want to be ignored like before." I said in my finalized tone. She seemed to have taken this the wrong way though.

"Fine Remus. I'll leave you alone then. Ignore you. It's what you want, since everything from last night was _such _a _mistake._ That you rather _give up _before trying. That _nothing_ happened yesterday. That I didn't have one of the_ best _days of my life dancing with you, because, what? You don't _remember_ it," she spat acidly. Then she made to get up and desert her breakfast. I grabbed her arm and pulled her back down to her seat.

"No, wait, Lily. I didn't mean it like that. It's just ... that the only reason all of that happened was because I wasn't me. Well, I was me, but the real me. The one no one but you know. And you know I'm usually this me ... if that made sense."

"Kind of ... but Remus. If you don't open yourself up, how do you expect to get a chance?"

"At what?"

"At getting to be with Sirius? Or getting people to know the real you? Because, Sirius seemed to like the real you."

"Yeah, and when he finds out that person was me, he will be revolted." I whispered hurriedly, as breakfast was now beginning to clear.

Suddenly, the other three Marauders arrived at the front, Peter looking a sickly green, James looking disgusted, and Sirius ... looking. For someone.

"Where the hell is he?" Sirius said quite audibly. James and Peter seemed to ignore him, as they began walking towards our house table. I looked down, and became very interested in my toast crumbs on my plate. As expected, James spoke first, not to Lily, but to me.

"Hey Lupin. I never gave you a proper thanks for getting my finger out my fly," Lily winced at his comment, "So, yeah, seriously," I winced at that last word, "Thanks mate, you ain't half bad." I was very tempted to correct him, that 'ain't' wasn't a word, but a form of slang, but restrained myself so as not to ruin the moment.

"Er, thanks ..or your welcome I mean ..." I said, intent on keeping my gaze down. Lily nudged me in the arm, as James was still standing there, staring at me, waiting for something more I think, "Um ... can I help you. . .?" This was getting very awkward. I didn't see his reaction, if he shook his head or what, since I kept staring down, but he continued to stand there. I hastily stood up as I noticed Sirius running up to people and looking them in the eyes to see their color, so I went the opposite way saying no more.

As I made my way to the court yard, Lily finally managed to catch up. "R-remus! Why did you just bolt like that? I was left with a zombie Potter, a sick Pettigrew, and a love struck Black!" she scolded. I sighed as if I was reaching my insanity point. Insanity. That was it.

"Lily. There is a fine line between genius, and insanity. I have erased this line."

"What?" She said, dumb-founded. It meant that one is to be a genius when they go to extremes, which might be considered insane, but to others: pure genius. I didn't explain this to Lily though, because I knew how she would take it. That I was gonna do something extreme, rather than think that I _already_ did something extreme. I got my own personal stalker. Even if that stalker doesn't know exactly who he's stalking.

"Lily, forget that. Do you know why James was watching me back there?" hoping to change topic, and cover my curiosity.

"Huh? He said something about your eyes?" she said with confusion.

* * *

**James' P.O.V**

"I'm telling you mate, did you see Lupin?" I said with frustration.

"What are you talking about? I was busy trying to find my soul mate, and you're caring about bloody Lupin?" Sirius said, as he and I were strolling the halls, looking at people to see if they fit Sirius' description. This was ridiculous.

_He's about 5'10 .. tawny hair ... nice body ... Hehehe ... deep voice ... and sunshine eyes._ That was his description. How the hell was I to find someone with such accurate things like that? I mean, I wasn't going to take a ruler and measure a guy, and I don't even _know_ what color 'tawny' is, and I am most certainly _not_ checking out their bodies, and everyone seems to have a deep voice now a days ... and sunshine eyes?

"That's just it Sirius, he refused to look at any of us," I pressed. I pulled his arm back as he began to wander off, and I made him stop with me.

"What, you think his eyes fit the description?" Sirius said with unfocused attention.

"No shit Sherlock." I said agitated.

"Sorry James. But I think you've just reached insanity." he said, as he began to search again. I shook my head angrily, and went the opposite way.

_Maybe if Sirius wanted to get too caught up with this, instead of looking at the obvious, then ha, I'll laugh when I find the bloke and not him. I think I know who it is, no matter what Sirius dares not to believe. It's the damn Lupin boy. I just have this urge it is ... But I can't be certain, I mean, maybe he was just afraid to look at me. Why would that be? Maybe he was just really obsessed with his toast. Oh Merlin, I have reached insanity. Think hard Potter! Think! Aha, he must have been there ... I mean if my urge was correct ... but we found him sleeping upstairs, undressed, reading a book as always. Guess he did have a date with it. He couldn't have been at the party, because he __**wasn't**__ there. Or was he? Lily was there ... and she knew him ..._

I guess it's time to find Lily.

**A/N: The real search and hunt by Sirius and James for "Mister mystery masked man" with jelly filling begins with the **_**next**_** chap. So, go review, if you are interested, if not - sad face ):**


	4. Up For a Challenge

**Chapter IV: Up for a Challenge**

**James' P.O.V**

I didn't manage to find Lily or Lupin yesterday, and apparently Sirius didn't take my advice to look for Lupin instead. But I did find him later. Asleep. In bed. I guess I'll just find out tomorrow.

* * *

**Remus' P.O.V**

When I woke up, it was still dark out, blue tinting at a distance. I sighed and swung my legs over to the side of the bed. I didn't realize that I had left the curtains open last night. I had full view to Sirius, and as sight of him, I felt wide awake. He wasn't mumbling like yesterday though. He made my heart pump faster, and I suddenly had a thought. I didn't like it, but I grabbed some parchment, a quill, and ink. I dipped it and immediately began writing.

_Dear Sirius,The other day was truly amazing. And if I could replay it, I would keep it on endless repeat. But I know that this can't continue. You looking for me. I really think you should just forget about it, forget about me. It's truly for the best, and if you knew why, you would think so too. So, with deepest regrets, I must ask of you to please forget. And, my eyes were not naturally amber. They were contacts. I'm sorry for wasting your time. You could never figure out who I am anyways. ,J._

J. Stood for John, my middle name. Just in case he could piece together R.L or R.J.L. I really hated doing this, cutting all hope or chance out, but it really was for the best. I didn't want to waste anymore of his time. And I saved myself a heartbreak. I was going to give it to Lily later to give to Sirius. She could say it was from his "soul-mate". So much for happy endings. But this isn't the Cinderella Story I read about in an old book. This was reality, and reality didn't like me. I then I began dressing and the boys were still sleeping soundly when I left with my bag and all my school books.

No one was in the Common Room as expected, and I contemplated going down to the probably empty Great Hall, or stay here and wait for Lily. I decided to go down, to save time, and get done with breakfast quicker. When I did get to there, there were only two teachers, the Bloody Baron and one student up. I wonder how early I really did get up? There wasn't any breakfast out either. I went towards the lonely student, and found out it was Snape. He looked up at me, then looked back down. I decided to sit next to him, and he gave me another look.

"Mind if I sit here? Since the place is pretty empty, for a Monday at least."

"You're already sitting, so I guess it doesn't matter. And it is the first day of the week, students try to get as much sleep in before lessons," he said dully. I haven't spoke to Snape often. I had a huge feeling he didn't like me, since I took Lily away from him. And that I was in Gryffindor, in the same dorm with James and Sirius, who he deeply loathes.

I forced a small chuckle, "Yeah... Sirius is the latest person I've ever seen. One time he came running into the lesson with one minute to spare; pants loose, belt loose, tie loose, cloak half way on, buttons undone, hair messy. McGonagall couldn't deduct points for being late because he wasn't. But she did get him for being out of uniform. He had told her he was in uniform, just dressing the way he wanted." I laughed for real this time at the memory, but Snape only scowled.

"'Course. Black gets away with it all. Like when he kissed that bloke the other night. He got away with it. He's lucky he didn't get punched, that prat. I would have hexed his lips to his ass if he did that to me. I mea-"but I cut him off angrily.

"Shut up Snape." I growled. But he looked unfazed. He must have been used to it by James and Sirius.

"Oh, so you're defending him now?" he drawled smoothly. I felt myself getting hot out of anger.

"Yeah, I am defending him. You know he wouldn't kiss you if he was to save his life!"

"Git doesn't deserve life. He's a blood traitor, that's what he is. Disgrace to the name of Black. I used to respect the family, that is, until I met your boyfriend." Then all the heat that was in my face by anger was replaced with embarrassment. I hope it didn't appear differently though, and I still looked convincing.

"He's not my boyfriend." I said quieter than I had wished, my voice sounded hoarse, and my mask faltered. But Snape sat beside me, looking smug. The two teachers in front whispered to each other, and then decided to leave the breakfast hall. The Bloody Baron had long ago disappeared.

"He's not my boyfriend." I repeated a bit louder, and more stern, but I'm assuming it still didn't fool him.

"Then why are you reacting like so?" Not like I could say he was my friend, because we didn't speak on friendly terms.

"I .. I don't know." I confessed. I think the real reason was because I was the one on the other side of those lips, and I wouldn't ever punch him or hex him for it.

"He's a queer, a homo, a fag, that's what he is." he sneered.

I yanked out my wand, "Langlock!" The spell, created by Severus Snape himself, used against him. His hands flew to his mouth as his tongue was glued to the roof of his mouth. I pulled a book from my bag and threw it on the table, and it landed with a thud, "Shouldn't leave your books around, Snape." With that, I turned around, and noticed a few of the students who had just entered and only witnessed me hexing him. All eyes were on me, and I tried to ignore the few congratulating me. Snape was still looking through his book for the counter-course. He was probably going to go to a teacher and report me, after he was normal, that is.

So I hurried down the hall until-

I rammed right into James Potter.

"Ow, watch where you're going you git! Oh, sorr-" but I began running down the hall and I heard him calling after me, "Wait! Lupin! I need to talk to you! Get back here!" and I could hear him chasing after me. I don't know where I was running, but for the second time in the last 5 minutes, I ran into another person - McGonagall. It was true. I was terrified. I ended up knocking her down when James ran into me, and we were like a huge dog pile. I shoved James off me, stood up, and helped up the fragile looking teacher, who looked murderous at the moment.

"I'm so sorry Professor! I didn't watch where I was going and-"

"Indeed, you didn't watch where you were going. And you are a Prefect Mr. Lupin, you know better to run in the halls. And don't you try inching away Potter, you are just as guilty." We both hung our heads in shame, waiting for punishment, "Detention. Both of you. Everyday. Until Saturday. No excuses." And I heard her heels briskly leave, and then I was tempted to begin running again when James grabbed my arm. He whipped me around to face him, and I closed my eyes hard.

"_You,_" he growled. I gulped quite audibly, until I heard Lily. Thank God. She could like hex the boy off me or something.

"Remus! Hey! Oh .. um."

"Get him off me!"

"Don't touch me," James threatened.

"I was just gonna ask you if you've seen my wand Remus!"

Great. Guess she can't hex him for me. I reached down as much as I could to pull out the note to Sirius. This must be delivered before James tells him, because then Sirius won't care or believe him.

"Lily! It's up in your other robe! The one you got that potion stain on!" She turned to go, "No wait! Take this to Sirius!" and I held the note out farther. James was looking at my face, he didn't even realize I had the letter until Lily came and took it. She scurried off quickly, and then I was left to face James.

"What was that?"

"Nothing that concerns you."

"Hell yeah it concerns me. You said it was for Sirius, what did it say?" he demanded. I took a deep breath, and then decided to tell him.

"Saturday I went to the party, and I acted like myself, the one I don't show in public because I don't like attention, and apparently I did bring a lot, considering half the school is talking about that kiss. I'm not going to come out to Sirius because I don't want him to know, because he will be grossed out and-"

"Yeah he'll be grossed out. And heck yeah everyone's _still _talking of that kiss, and the supposed stranger, but _I _figured it out! Ha! And I didn't think you could pull that off Lupin. But wait until Sirius finds out..."

"No! James! _Please _don't tell him! That's what the note said, just to drop it and all." James still looked unconvinced though, "I mean, you do owe me, don't you? For yesterday?"

"But that was such a small thing! This is a much _bigger_ thing than a finger! And I'm not gonna deal with stupid Sirius being all love struck for _you!_"

"Not that. Just ... please don't tell him it was me. Just play along? Or convince him to stop wasting his time?" A few minutes passed as James seemed to be considering all of this.

"Fine," he grumbled unhappily. I let out the air I unconsciously had been holding in. Relief was blunt on my face.

"So, you're .. gay?" he asked. I nodded, and he suddenly took a large step away from me.

"So...you enjoyed that kiss with Sirius?" I nodded again. He made an odd face that made me resist an urge to laugh.

"You know, this could be kind of fun. See how long it takes him to figure out that the person lives with him, has the same classes as him, sits at the same table with him, sleeps in the same _room _as him!" he laughed to himself.

"No! James, this is what I mean, I don't want to give him the opportunity to figure out who it is. I already told him on the paper to forget about me."

"Well, what exactly did you say?"

"Umm, I don't remember the exact words. Just that I had a great time, but not to keep looking for me, and forget it all. That he's wasting his time, and that he could never figure out who I was anyways. Oh, and that those weren't my natural eye color, and they were contacts."

"You know he isn't going to buy that bull, right?" James asked, skeptically.

"Why do you say that?" But then Lily came huffing back to us, a new piece of paper in her hand.

"Guys! Class starts in a few minutes! And Remus, it's from..." she gestured towards James, and I gave her a nod, "It's from Sirius." She handed it to me, and I unrolled it. Sloppy writing was scribbled about.

_J,_

_Why don't you just give me your name? It'll make it easier for me to find you. Which I'm going to do. You didn't think that I was going to give up just because your letter told me to? And your eyes were natural! Believe me, I looked into them good. They were real. Don't worry, I will find you and whisk you off your feet Romeo! And you think I won't find out who you are? Psh, please. I'm up for a challenge._

-Your other Half,  
Sirius Orion Black.

**A/N: Did you know that James' eyes are actually hazel, and Remus' are brown ? I didn't know that until J.K Rowling said so.  
****This chapter was about how Sirius is going to keep fighting if it wasn't clear?**


	5. OoC: Sad Stories

**A/N:**** I am very sorry, but this chapter isn't part of the story. This is a message I wanted to send to my readers. Only because this Masquerade story is popular, so it will be more viewed. The one I am here to tell you is a true story, and it happened here, in the United States. It would be very important you read this, and know of all the people everyday that get bullied, harassed, teased, tormented, all of it, just because of their sexual preference/orientation, their race, their language/color, their looks/weight, all of it. These few stories are all true, like I said, & very sad. I don't own these articles, they are all from an original report. Almost all of these people committed suicide. All under 25 years old.**

Tyler Clementi was one of those kids who spent a lot of time on his own-notweird, just quiet. "He was always by himself with his iPodin his ears" says Kevin Muldoon, 17, a former classmate at New Jersey's RidgewoodHigh School. But when he picked up his violin, the shy teen came alive. "There was deep emotion when he put that bow to his violin," says friend Morgan Knight, 18. "That's how he expressed himself."

Clementi did not get to play late on Sept. 22; instead he drove to the George Washington Bridge and jumped into the Hudson River. The tragedy of his suicide, days earlier, his freshman roommate at New Jersey's Rutgers College University, Dharum Ravi, 18, allegedly webcammed Clementi in an encounter with a man in their dorm room and streamed it live. Authorities have charged Ravi and another student-Molly Wei, 18, whose computer Ravi alllegedly used-with invasion of privacy, which could lead to 5 years in prison. What officials and friends are struggling to answer: Was this cold-blooded cyber bullying or a dumb prank with awful, unforseen consequences? "It's not clear Mr. Ravi was motivated to harm Tyler because he was gay." says former federak prosecutor Henry Klingeman. (A/N: BULL SH*T! SORRY. CARRY ON)) "But given the suicide and the attention, I'm certain the prosecutor will seek prison time." (A/n: That's better..)

The harassment Clementi may have felt is all too common. A 2OO5 Harris poll found 9O percent of gay and lesbian teens say they've been bullied in the past year. And nearly two-thirds of these students feel unsafe in school, according to a 2OO9 survey by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network. In September alone, three other teens took their own lives after homophobic taunting. Still, the actions that may have prompted Celmennti to kill himself seem particularly heartless, and they have touched a nerve across the country, sparkling a national conversation on bullying and prompting talk show host, Ellen DeGeneres to declare, "Something must be done." Clementi's mother, father, and two brothers are devastated, they were always so supportive of him.

Clementi may bot have had a big circle of friends, but he made an impression on the ones he had. "When I felt isolated, he showed me an immense amount of compassion," says Morgan Knight. Clementi dazzled conductors and fellow violinists with his technique. But if he shared his musical gifts with the world, he kept his personal life hidden. "He was, as far as I know, completely in the closet," says Knight. Clementi once called himself pratically 'asexual' in postings on the Internet message board ; there, he said, "I honestly don't think people are mature enough to be having sex prior to collegeish years."

On September 19th, Clementi invited a man to his dorm room. Clementi "asked for the room until midnight," tweeted his dorm mate Ravi, (a/n aka the bully!) tweeted that evening. (A/n Then he tweeted this ! Grr.) "I went into Molly's room and turned on my webcam. I saw Clementi making out with a dude. Yay." According to Wei, several students came to her room to watch. Two days later Ravi tweeted he was going to secretly webcam Clementi again and share it with his Internet chat group. "Video chat between the hours of 9:3O and 12," he tweeted, "It's happening again."

By the Clementi had learned about the webcam and shut it down. He discussed the matter on the Internet forum and possible a resident adviser. "I'm kinda pissed," he wrote in a Sept.21 post entitled, "College Room Mate Spying." Even so, he didn't seem overly distraught in the message board postings and even called Ravi a 'pretty decent roommate.' Yet just a day later, at 8.42 pm, Clementi posted this terse status update on Facebook: "Jumping off the g.w bridge. Sorry."

While Clementi's friends and family grieve, those who know Ravi and Wie-both popular solid students, - are stunned. Ravi "found irony and dark situations funny" says his friend Josh, "He's not a monster though" The friend of Ravi, Wei, a pharmancy student, "is one of the most caring people I've met." says a close friend. Her lawyer insists, "She did nothing wrong, and committed no crime. There's not an ounce of biased in her."  
(A/N: BULL MOTHER SH*T! Very sorry. Im very angry right now.)

"His parents lost a wonderful son, and we've lost a wonderful human being," says Emanuel Sosinsky. "His death is a loss to the world."

**A/N This was a true story, it happened in New Jersey, USA. It's very sad. Questions/Comments/Concerns? EMAIL ME. or Review, but I'd rather you EMAIL me your question. By email I mean on here, not personal. You know Private Message ? OKAY ONE MORE !**

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* * *

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A/N This one is ALSO TRUE. But this one isn't about sexual orientation. It's just about being different.

The air smelled like nachos and hot dogs on Sept.10 as the first football game of the year at home team stormed the field with a banner that read "We're Back". To the surprise of many, so was Sean Mulveyhill. The 18 year old star captain had left school last winter just before police charged him with statuory rape in the Phoebe Prince bullying case. Wearing a white baseball cap, Mulveyhill walked right up on the field. He gave his former coach a hug, and then stayed with his old team on the sidelines, running up and down the grass, cheering them on and and hooting at every touchdown. "I was happy he was back with us," says Alex Parker, a player on the team. "Everybody loves Sean. Everybody missed him."

South Hadley won big that night, but it felt like a bitter sweet victory. Because of the case heard round the world, South Hadley High has become known as the "bully school". On Jan 14th, following weeks of vicious attacks on Facebook, 15 year old Phoebe Prince committed suicide, and in a unprecedented move by district attorney, six teens were slapped with felony charges. "They have a bad reputation because of what happened," says student from nearby Holyoke High School.

While the accused bulies await trial, this Massachusetts town of 17,OOO is trying to move on. But reminders of Phoebe Prince and her legacy are everywhere-from antibullying measures that are now being passed across the U.S and a new banner proclaiming RESPECT that now hangs above Sout Hadley High's front doors to lingering, bitter controversy about whether Phoebe's death could have been prevented and whether the accused teens are getting a rawa deal. "It hasn't gone back to normal." says police chief David LaBrie, "I don't know if it ever will."

In the wake of Phoebe's death 9 months ago, her hometown became a national target. Online 'hate' pages featuring some of the defendants sprang up on Facebook. "It's been frustrating to see so many students in pain," says Stephanie Viens, a history teacher, "I would tell my students, 'This event doesn't define you' but the students would be upset, 'Why do they hate us?' and [I'd say] 'They don't hate you, they are afraid they are you.'"

Or worse, a Phoebe in the making. "I truly believe Phoebe did not want to die and just snapped and had nowehere to turn," her aunt Eileen Moore, 53, tells PEOPLE. "The signs were there and there was no support." Phoebe had moved to South Hadley from County Clare, Ireland, in summer 2OO9, and already troubled girl on Prozac and with a history of depression. After girls at her new school started calling her 'Irish Slut' or just 'slut', for her relationship with certain boys, she started cutting herself again, her mom said in grand jury testimony, "She wanted the pain to stop," according to Anne O'Briend Prince. Phoebe eventually finally ending her life by hanging herself with a scarf she had off her step's balcolny after a particularly difficult day of taunting. "If this can happen to an intellignet, beautiful girl, it can happen to anybody." says Moore.  
(A/n Actually, the group of bullies drove past in her car when she was walking home from school and they threw a can at her head, and screamed to her to just kill herself.)

Certainly her death provided a wake up call for teachers and parents in South Hadley."The biggest change,"says South Hadley High Principal Daniel Smith,"is heightened awareness."Eight graders now undergo depression screeing before entering their freshman Hadley set up an antibullying committee to create a new policy which mandates"the principal must initiate an investigation of bullying within a one school day."

And while some in the community believe the efforts are showing results, others discuss ways in which bulling is hard to eradicate even in a school that knows firsthand bullying's most tragic consequences. "I've seen improvement. Teachers are more receptive to our complaints. says Nancy Farnsworth, one of the members to the anti bullying committee, who has two kids in the school. Parents like Susan Parker joined Facebook in order to monitior her kid's accounts." And her kids aren't allowed to block her. She also checks the text messages on her cellphone.

According to a knowledgeable source, in the spring Velazquez had a rock thrown through the window of the house in which she was staying, "They won't let her back in school, and they won't give her a tutor. Her mother has been going to the school and getting her school books. She'll have to repeat the year, or a substantial protion of it." Jennifer Mullins joined the antibulling task force but had to leave because of threats. Longe was run out of a party by other girls. "She isn't working. And she has her G.E.D and is looking pretty hard for a job. As for Mulveyhill, "Sean genuinely cared for Phoebe and shortly after she diedthey made the purple braceletsm 'Phoebe Prince, Always in our Hearts.' Sean was still wearing his bracelett and hasn't taken it off since he got it.

* * *

13-year-old Asher Brown's parents, David and Amy Truong, said they'd complained numerous times to Hamilton Middle School officials about their son being bullied. The eighth-grade straight-A student was picked on for being small, not wearing designer clothing, and for being gay. Bullies performed "mock gay acts" on Brown during phys ed.

Amy said her phone calls were never returned and their visits to the school to complain about harassment were ignored.

The torment took its toll. On September 23rd, 2010, Asher retrieved his stepfather's 9 mm Beretta from the closet and shot himself.

When David Truong got home from work at 4:30 PM he found Asher's body on the floor.

School district spokeswoman Kelli Durham says no such complaints were made — not by the Truongs, not by other students and not by school employees.

_That statement infuriated the Truongs, who accused the school district of protecting the bullies and their parents._

_"That's absolutely inaccurate — it's completely false," Amy Truong said. "I did not hallucinate phone calls to counselors and assistant principals. We have no reason to make this up. … It's like they're calling us liars."_

_David Truong said, "We want justice. The people here need to be held responsible and to be stopped. It did happen. There are witnesses everywhere."_

The commenters on KRIV-TV's Channel 26 website tell a different story. Internet commenters aren't necessarily the world's most reliable source, but sometimes in cases like these, they're the only source we've got, and enough similar stories make a strong case:

_+ My son knows who it is, he said that nothing was ever done about it. It has been going on since 6th grade._

_+ [My daughter] spent 1.5 miserable years at that school thanks to bullying and we made sure they knew about it. She was kicked, tripped, pushed (including on the stairs), called a freak, a weirdo, and numerous other names to painful to mention in this post. When she was being physically abused, teachers either looked the other way or told her they didn't see__ anything even though our daughter saw the teacher see what happened_.

+_ I ACTUALLY PULLED MY SON FROM THIS SCHOOL BECAUSE OF THEIR ADMIN & STAFF. They will TOTALLY cover up everything. EVERY parent that is TRUELY concerned for their children here need to get together and fight this. They do not protect these children and are only concerned with their image. I have ALL of my documentation from when my son was bullied within CFISD._

+ _My son is a good friend of Asher's, too. We spoke with the principal today and their official statement is they have no record of any bullying of anyone. Both of my autistic sons hav been bullied at this school for 4 years. They were teased with gay-baiting language for fun._

+ _i go there and in the eighth grade. and the kids accused of bullying will deny and the issue will be dropped. the administration cares more about how many tardies you have rather than a death._

+ _I go to hamilton and am in the eighth grade and he was teased a lot and no one even cared about it. i personally never teased him and often felt sorry for him , but speaking up would do no good. Apparently the day before his death he was tripped down the stairs and laughed at._

Someone identifying as a "former CSID teacher" attests:

_CFISD is very intolerant of Gay students. As an openly gay teacher in CFISD I too was discriminated against and made to feel inferior. Ultimately, my teaching assignment was changed with no reason given despite all my efforts to find one. Additionally:_

_– The day of last year's "day of silence" for victims of gay-related bullying and suicides, while many schools supported the practice, my school's assoc principal came over the loud speaker to remind students and teachers that, while they can choose to participate, the school does not condone the event in any way and if any students' silence interferes with the class, they are to be sent to the principal's office._

_– The day I agreed to sponsor a "Gay-Straight-Alliance" at the school, my department chair asked me what club I am sponsoring, I said, "the GSA," he asked, "what's that?" "the Gay-Straight-Alliance" I said very uncomfortably, he scoffed and rolled his eyes in disgust while another teacher pursed her lips and looked away._

_– The first 2 posters the GSA posted to advertise the club were ordered down immediately as they contained the word "homosexual". The club chose not to fight the order, feeling lucky to be allowed to organize the club at all._

_– The first set of posters (following every rule and with no "inappropriate words") advertising the GSA's first meeting where ripped down by a student that night._

_Luckily for me, I was able to simply leave. I did not sign a new contract. But what about the students? They cannot simply leave, school is their world and gay students in CFISD live in a world that reminds them everyday that they are different, unwanted, and inferior. _

The facebook group "RIP Asher Brown" contains heartfelt messages of support and calls to action to stop this from happening.

The school spokesperson did attest that Amy had emailed them earlier in the month to keep an eye on her son, but that the complaint was related to problems at home, not bullying.

This is tragically unsurprising as new statistics from the 2009 National School Climate Survey found 84.6% of LGBT students reported being verbally harassed, 40.1% reported being physically harassed and 18.8% reported being physically assaulted at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation.

The day before his suicide, another student had tripped Brown — who mainly hung out with a tight-knit group of similarly-harassed children — as he walked down a flight of stairs at school. When Brown tried to retrieve his book bag after hitting the stairwell, another student kicked his books everywhere and kicked Brown down another flight of stairs.

Durham said that without video footage or anyone to corroborate their claims, the investigation of the stair-pushing incident came up short:

_The Truongs say they just want the harassment to stop so other students do not suffer like their son did and so another family does not have to endure such a tragedy._

_"Our son is just the extreme case of what happens when (someone is) just relentless," Amy Truong said._

_To the bullies, she added, "I hope you're happy with what you've done. I hope you got what you wanted and you're just real satisfied with yourself."_

**A/N QUESTIONS/COMMENTS/CONCERNS? EMAIL ME THEM!**

**ALSO, THE NEXT CHAPTER FOR MASQUERADE PARTY WILL BE UP IN A FEW DAYS!**

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**MUCH LOVE! LET US PRAY FOR THEM ALL.**


	6. Detentions

**Chapter V: Detentions**

_Here's my formal invitation  
You and me go Masquerading  
Lose ourselves in this charade  
Is this love we're imitating?  
_-Masquerade by Ashley Tisdale

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**James' P.O.V**

Detention. I had detention. Because of bloody Lupin. Because of bloody Sirius. Because of bloody McGonagall. Everyone but myself. I had no reason to blame myself. It _was _Sirius' fault because he was making me look for Lupin anyways. It was McGonagall's fault that I had detention in general. And Lupin was just the reason for all of this.

I had a bad impression of Lupin already. To me, he was a nerd, a loser, an outsider, a queer, a coward, and a sneak. Was it wrong of me to assume these labels on him? I don't think so. He most certainly was a nerd, loser, and outsider, anyone with eyes could tell you that. Queer was something more hidden, which is why he's a sneak, but most of all - he was a coward.

He couldn't man himself up enough to tell Sirius everything. I would tell Sirius everything too; just to shut him up. But I'm really not going to get involved. I wanted to savor the moment that me and Sirius weren't equals. We were equal with girls (though my heart belonged to Evan's so he had more freedom with them), grades, pranks, popularity, Quidditch ... I had this above him, though. I knew who he was looking for. I just wanted to see how long it would take him.

And most certainly to see how long Sirius would drop him and this whole fantasy.

* * *

**Remus' P.O.V**

Detention. I had detention. Because of James. Because of Snape. Because of Sirius. Because of McGonagall. But mostly - because of myself. I was the one running from Snape. From James mostly, and into McGonagall. I was the one who wanted to keep me unknown, so I couldn't taint the memory I had with Sirius. I was the one who had to get bit by a werewolf when I was 5 because I was so careless, and that's why I had this reputation.

I was everything I appeared to be - and more. I was a nerd, a loser, an outsider, a queer, a coward, and a werewolf. I paid so much attention my studies, no one but Lily wanted to actually hang out with me. I was a werewolf - a gay one at that. And I was a coward. A coward because I was acting like a 5 year old, like I _was_ when I was 5 years old. I was afraid to confront anyone, and tell anyone my secrets. I couldn't grow a pair of balls and actually tell Sirius because I was _that_ much of a wimp. Because I was scared of what was going to happen, what he would tell me. What _would _he tell me?

If I looked on the brighter side, he would tell me that he didn't care who I was, and that he just really cared about me. That he would like to know more about the real me that I showed Saturday, which felt like so long ago, but it was only 3 days ... He would tell me that he would accept me into his group, and if he ever found out about my lycanthropy, he wouldn't mind, that he still loved me.

Then if you looked at the pessimistic side, he would tell me that he must have lost his marbles. That he wanted to forget he ever made a foolish mistake like that. To think that he actually spent so much time trying to track me down, because just that night - had him feeling in love. I read somewhere that it takes 1/5 of a second to fall in love. That the sections in your brains actually connect something and somehow - it's like you know. (A/N: This is a true fact). Did Sirius really feel that?

Maybe I didn't know Sirius like I thought I did, when living with him for 5 years, and learning about him. Because I really - actually, didn't know what thing Sirius would do. Would he actually put his feelings before his reputation? Or would he find that this was a huge waste of his time? A mixture of both perhaps. I don't know. And I think I don't want to know. I rather just keep this cryptic idea of it all.

Lily wonders … she wonders why I don't want Sirius to know, she thinks I'm just being ridiculous because I don't want to tell Sirius to his face. Why doesn't she understand that I-don't-want-him-to-know? Why doesn't she see that it'll hurt me, to be unintentionally rejected? That he'll tell the school, and I might actually become the laughing stock? Why won't she just leave me alone-

"Remus!" the familiar girly voice shrieked in my ear. I stifled a groan, and continued to stuff potatoes in my mouth. I knew what she wanted. She wanted to know what the note said. That's another thing; why won't Sirius give it a rest? Why didn't he believe - or at least _accept_ my excuse and drop it. Why was he so keen on finding me? He doesn't even freaking know my name! I _really_ regret going to that party.. do I?

"I have something to ask you-" she started, and this time I didn't even hold back my moan.

"Ugh - Lily . Last time: I am not going to tell you what it said! So _please_ leave me with my last bit of sanity!" I snapped. Assuming by the look on her face, she wasn't going to ask that.

"I was just going to remind you that your detention with McGonagall starts in a minute .." she said angrily, and ran off out the Great Hall. Damn it! I forgot about that when I was getting side-tracked in my thoughts! And now I have to apologize to Lily. I jumped up from seat and ran out of the hall, ignoring the awkward stares. I seemed to be getting those a lot recently. Being late did not look good ... Why did her bloody office have to be on the 5th floor? Even with the moving staircase, I got there a few minutes late. I pushed open the door softly, hoping that they were even more late than I.

I stepped inside and looked around the empty room. I breathed in and out a sigh of relief, then I heard a snigger. I turned around as I heard the door shut, and saw James Potter leaning casually against it's frame.

"Where's the Professor?" I asked, curious at the absence of the usual strict, present teacher.

"Left early. Left me in charge ... Says we have to sort through some of these files records and organize the relevant information. Toss some of the reports like got an O on this or something because they got that in a larger, more important folder. Put some in chronological order: house, name, year, catching on?" I nodded.

"Why'd she leave? She would never leave a student," _James Potter in particular, _I thought, "in her office unattended."

James shrugged, "Dunno, Dumbledore needed to urgently see her, and she couldn't wait around for your late ass. We're not allowed to go through that box though," he motioned to a smaller one than the others, that was white and in newer condition. I nodded again.

"So let's start with that one," James said, and pushed himself off the door. He walked to the box, crouched down, and pulled the lid off.

"Wait - wait! James! I thought we're not-"

"Supposed to go through this one?" he smirked, " Stop being such a prick. If McGonagall didn't want us going through the box, she wouldn't have _left_ it here for us to go through it, would she?" and he continued taking files out.

"_Maybe_ it was because she didn't have time to remove it from the room, and she gave us directions not to touch it because it could have records of the teachers or something ..." I said, uncertain.

"Fine, you go through those regular boxes and I'll go through these," he suggested.

"Fine."

"Fine." I went to a normal box and started too. After sorting through a few, I found that these were all the student's records and background information. Letting curiosity getting the best of me, I read a few sentences of each student. Half-way through the box I was working on, James broke the silence.

"I love this box! It has files of weird students - including Snivellus!" James said, finishing the last few sentences on the record he was reading.

"Who's Snivellus?" I asked. James just smiled wickedly at me.

"Snivellus is Snape. Like the name? Sirius and I make nick-names for about everyone."

"What's mine?" I said, a little scared of what he might say. But he only shook his head, clearly thinking.

"Odd, I never made one for you," I gave him a grateful look, but the soon changed to disappointed, "Hmm .. I have to make one for you now." I put on my 'sad face'.

"I'm just joking with you," he added suddenly, though I felt like he wasn't, and him and Sirius would have one for me by tomorrow.

"So ... What does it say? Snape's file, I mean .." I said with mild interest. I didn't feel guilty for wanting to know his secrets - Prat called Sirius a fag after-all. Deserved that Langlock. I didn't even get busted for it.

James was looking smugly at me. "Oh, Prefect Lupin wants to know what's in this box now?" he said mockingly. I blushed a bit.

"N-no, er, I just wanted to ... uh ..." I couldn't think of anything, and James superior look only grew. He motioned for me to come over, and read the folder with him. I did so, and a few minutes later, when I finished, I sat back with awe. So Snape was a half-blood ... with a ridiculous father like mine ... and his summer life outside of Hogwarts, back home, was pitiful ... but James had a more happier look on his face.

"So that's why he's such a git!" he laughed. I nodded weakly, and moved back to the box I was half-way through, wishing I never learned his secrets. It wasn't right that he had to go back to Spinner's End, and be stuck in the house. I tried to clear my thoughts and finish my work. A few minutes later, James exclaimed, "Remus John Lupin!" while holding a thin, manila envelope. My heart pounded and my mind swirled.

I jumped from my spot and tacked him, not thinking anymore. It most likely told about my lycanthropy, and James _could not _find out. I was holding him down with my weight, gripping the folder tightly.

"Argh! _Gerroff me_!" he yelled, and shoved me off, then stood up to brush out any dirt and crinkles formed in his button-down. "What was that about! What's so secret about you that you were put in this box?" he demanded.

I shook my head, grateful at the close-call being averted. James looked down at me and repeated, "What're you hiding?" I opened my mouth to refuse to tell when he interrupted me, "Tell me or I'm telling Sirius."

I bit my lip, "Tell Sirius then." James smiled faltered, but he waited anyway, to see if I would change my mind.

"Tell me now, or I will tell Sirius as soon as we get out of this room." He was threatening me, that son of a bitc- then I felt the folder be yanked out of my hold.

"No!" I yelled, but James ran across the other side of the room behind the large desk, and was already scanning the front page. I stood up, wishing I could do something. Where was my wand so I could _Accio_ it to me?

I knew exactly what it would say:

_Status: Half-Blood (Mom - Muggle; Dad - Pure Blood), Werewolf._

Then the folder fell with a _whoosh,_ papers scattered everywhere across the floor. I braced myself for the outburst of shock.

"_Werewolf?"_ he asked incredulous. I didn't speak. I didn't move. I didn't _breathe. _After a about 3 minutes later, though it felt like ages, James bent over to pick up the fallen papers, and placed them back in the folder. He put it all back in the box, and the other files he read through, too. He lifted the box and put it on McGonagall's desk.

'_Why wasn't he overreacting? Why wasn't he afraid or angry? Why - why was he acting so calm about all this? I didn't understand - This was __**James Potter.**__ He should be doing something, __**anything.**__ He couldn't take this information like that. __**Why was this not going as expected!' **_I mentally questioned myself.

Eventually, I did move my limps, which felt extremely heavy now. I crouched back down beside my almost empty box. No words were exchanged between us, just the sound of rustling papers. I was utterly confused, this was _crucial_ information about me, and he didn't make any comment or question on it. He didn't give me a reaction! Just that first shocked one, but that seemed to have blew over. When I finished two boxes, and was working on the third, McGonagall came through the door. She looked angry and frustrated.

"You two! Still working on the boxes I see! Well that's good enough. Out of my office now, if you please!" and she basically threw us out, James mumbling under his breath.

I turned to the boy on my right, "James," I started. I needed to find out why he was acting like this. Was he planning to convince me that he was going to keep the secret, then share it with everyone tomorrow? Sorry James, but you most definitely aren't a good, trustworthy person like Lily. But James put up a hand to silence me.

"I saw nothing ..." he said with a grin.

"But - but - I'm a," I mouthed the word, "and you should be happy you know this secret, or terrified that you're with a monster, or angry that Dumbledore's smuggling me, or - or ..." I was getting frustrated at this act and lack of reaction.

"Mate, look, I'll admit it, I feel superior that I learned a lot about you in the last two days, more than Sirius does - and he's the one that's trying to find you! So yeah, I feel good that I'm beating Sirius at his own game. But no, I'm not scared of you," he snorted, "As long as you're not going to kill me in the night - I don't care what you do, or who, or _what_, you are. No offense," he hurriedly added, "And personally - Dumbledore is a role-model - though I'll never admit it to anyone else, so shut up and wipe that grin off your face!" he growled. But I merely shook my head.

"James, I'm not smiling because of that ... I'm smiling because you aren't freaking. You aren't going to tell. That, out of that information, the important part from it is that you're ahead of Sirius, and can hold it over his head. That you're being so . . _understanding_ to me ..." I said with disbelief, hope, and relief.

James rubbed his neck uncomfortably, "Yeah ... look, Lupin, er, _Remus._ I don't _not_ like you - well, I ... I hate Snivellus more than you. And I'm not out to get you ... And if Sirius sees good in you - well then so do I, I guess ..." a short silence passed between us until James continued, "Well, yup. . .Let's get going."

I nodded in agreement, unable to think of anything to add. Halfway there though, James stopped again, so I did too, "Wait - can you tell me what that note said? The one Sirius gave back to you?" His brown eyes widened pleadingly. I felt a little guilty that I was going to tell James before I told Lily, even though she's been my best friend for 2 years, but I felt like I owed James too, for the great he was doing.

"He said that he wants to keep on searching for me. . . That my eyes were real. . . That he wants my name. . . . James, he doesn't see - Doesn't understand that this isn't just a game for him. A game to find the masked man, so he can snog him and get it off his chest. I don't want attention. I -" I took a deep breath, daring myself to say the words, the lie, "I don't want _him._"

**Sirius P.O.V**

What was taking him! Detention does _not_ take this long! At least mine don't. What did he do that deserved a 5 day detention? So he knocked over McGonagall, and probably broke a few of her bones - Big deal. And maybe he was running in the halls too - and shouting. Too bad I wasn't there. I could have eased up the mood and get him 1 day detention - 2 days maybe. But Lupin being there probably got him more, since Lupin's a _good boy._

"_Ugh!"_ I threw my head back defeated. Today, over-all, was terrible.

One, I didn't find _him,_ two, I got yelled at for shaking anyone who didn't have amber eyes, three, I couldn't stop thinking of _him_, and got yelled at by Slughorn for letting my cauldron bubble over, and four, I didn't hear from _him, _either. It's a lost cause.

And I was very tempted to attack James, _Muggle Style,_ when, probably for about the, oh I dunno, millionth time, he told me to give up. Why didn't he see how important this was for me? That I really connected with this guy, that sure, I didn't learn his name, or more about him - But that's _why _I want to find him. I want to learn everything I can about him. I don't want him as a play toy - if I wanted one of those, I could be out there now, getting about anyone I wanted. Except him. Why didn't James see that I was being serious about this. Not my quirky, awesome Sirius, but _actually_, serious? If I wasn't being serious, doesn't he think that I would have given up on this already. That I wouldn't actually be wasting my time on this because I'm Sirius F-N Black, and I could get anyone, anywhere, anytime? With no questions asked. I wanted him. I wanted that masked angel, whose identity is a cryptic mystery.

I needed to plan something out. I needed to plan out how I was going to actually, really, get him. That I really am serious about this. And I'm not trying to be punny, I'm being serio-God damn it! What were my parents thinking, having my first name an adjective ... And my last name Black being an adjective, and my middle name being Orion, the star ... I hate them.

Back on topic - I needed a well-thought out, schematic scheme on how to do so. It should be easy, right_?_ Just like planning a prank, right_?_ Why can't he just come out to me? What was he so afraid of? What was he hiding? Why was he _in _hiding? Did he not like me? No, that's impossible, I'm the Hogwart's heart-throb. . . _right__?

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**A/N: Next chapter will be the plan - and how Sirius is going to put it in action. Just in case you didn't understand what this chap. has to do with anything - It's that James is basically accepting Remus and that James thinks of this more as a game than Sirius, ha-ha.**

**I'm not going to promise that the next chap. will be up in a week or two - or a month or two. I really don't know. . . But to everyone - I **_**will**_** keep this going, I'm not going to drop it or leave it unfinished. You're just going to have to patient, and I hope you will for me, and won't abandon me. If I am taking a seriously long time though, send me an email or anonymous review as a reminder.**

**Ps: Thanks to anyone who reviewed/read/understood my last chapter. The one with the stories about the children's suicide due to bullying because of their sexual orientation or status ... there's so many killing themselves everyday ...those were just three that I typed up - there's thousands more ...**


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